Ford “bringing Chariot commuter service to London”

Ford’s commuter shuttle bus network, Chariot, could soon be coming to London to supplement existing public transport routes in the capital.

City AM has spotted an online job advertisement looking for a general manager for Chariot in its “first international location, London, to help revolutionise transit.”

The paper adds that the service, which uses a fleet of Ford 15-seater transit vans to ferry passengers along popular routes in the likes of New York and San Francisco looks to supplement public transit bus routes and local trains with commuter routes that are not as well served by the existing options.

And according to a job advertisement online, Chariot is on the hunt for a general manager in “our first international location, London” to “help us revolutionise transit”.

Ford, which bought ride-sharing startup Chariot in September last year, confirmed the plans to the paper saying, “We continue to explore additional markets as part of our expansion plans, with London being one of them. We have applied for the relevant licences to operate a commuter microtransit service in London that would complement the existing public transport system.

“We are now awaiting a response from TfL regarding our applications for London Service Permits.”

The report says passengers can check the app to find commuter routes near them, reserve a seat, and also use the app to pay with their smartphones, and that Chariot could make an “interesting new challenger” to services such as Uber and existing taxi and minicab firms in London.